2013 ASEAN Basketball League Roundup: February 23-24, 2013

The San Miguel Beermen bounced back yesterday after getting
beaten by the Dragons last weekend. SMB subdued the Singapore Slingers to grab
solo second spot right behind league-leading Indonesia in the 2013 ABL. A day
prior, the Dragons themselves won back-to-back after defeating the Chang
Thailand Slammers on the road.

Sammy Monroe, playing in only his second ABL game, poured in
32 points to go along with 8 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks to help lead the
Dragons in their fourth win this season. Gavin Edwards added 12 points, 5
rebounds, 4 blocks, and 3 steals. On the other end of the floor, imports Chris
Charles and Michael Earl combined for 25 points and 21 rebounds to lead the Slammers,
who remained at the bottom with a 2-win 6-loss slate. Filipino import Froilan
Baguion also registered 9 points and 11 rebounds for Thailand.

Moala Tautaa skies for a jam during thepre-game shootaround.

In the weekend’s other game, San Miguel was led by Chris
Banchero’s 16 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals as the Beermen upended
the Singapore Slingers. Former Philippine NT big man Asi Taulava added 10 points
and 13 boards, while imports Gabe Freeman and Matt Rogers, who played in his
first game for SMB, pumped in a combined 16 markers and grabbed 10 boards. Rogers
blocked 5 shots as well.

The hometown Slingers lost their fourth game of the season,
while SMB climbed to solo second with 4 wins against 3 losses. Kyle Jeffers was
the only Slinger in double-figures with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Rasha
Jones-Jennings struggled. He shot just 3-of-13 from the field to end up with 8
points and 16 rebounds.

Game Recaps:

WESTPORTS
MALAYSIA DRAGONS over CHANG THAILAND SLAMMERS, 83-66

The stingy defense of the Westports Malaysia Dragons limited
Chris Charles to only 11 points this afternoon. Sammy Monroe put on another
exciting show in front of his home crowd to help the Dragons defeat the Chang
Thailand Slammers 83-66.

Monroe was on fire in the first half, scoring 19 of his 32
points within the first 20 minutes. Gavin Edwards chipped in with 12 points
while Moala Tautuaa recorded his first double-double of the season with 10
points and 12 rebounds.

Monroe continued his incredible run with the Dragons with 9
straight points straight off the bat to build a 20-8 lead for the Dragons with
2:09 left in the first quarter. The Sammy Monroe show continued as he put on a
shooting clinic early in the second quarter. Monroe made a smooth step back
three point shot that ballooned the Dragons lead to 37-19 with 6:07 left before
halftime. Then Monroe used a pick from Edwards and dished out a nice pass to
Edwards for a dunk, giving the Dragons their biggest lead of the game at 46-25.

The Slammers had a chance to cut the gap within the single
digits in the third quarter as the Dragons had a slow start coming out of the
locker room. The momentum was shifting to the Slammers way after Jonathan
Fernandez knocked down a three that trimmed the Dragons lead to 54-40. Then the
Dragons’ Edwards picked up his fourth foul and had to come out of the game with
5:07 left in the third quarter.

With Edwards sitting on the bench with foul trouble, the
Slammers pushed hard to close in. A three-point from Fernandez and a lay-up
from Charles got the Slammers within 11 points with 4:29 left in the third
quarter. The Slammers had a chance to get within a single digit again but a
turnover from Kannawat Lertlaaokul led to a lay-up for Patrick Cabahug and on the
next Dragons' possesion, Tautuaa made a putback jam that stretched the lead
back to 15 points.

The Dragons fans definitely enjoyed the show put on by
Monroe over the past two games. He capped off his fine afternoon with a nice
pull up jumper from the wing and probably one of the best plays so far this
season – a huge dunk off a nice alley-oop pass from Tautuaa.

The Slammers were unable to replicate their amazing
performance in MABA on Ferbruary 2nd. Michael Earl led the Slammers with 14
points, followed by Charles with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Froilan Baguion
added 9 points and 11 rebounds for the Slammers who were missing Chanachon
Klahan and Darongpan Apiromvilaichai this afternoon.

Justin Melton and Froilan Baguion had agreat match-up at PG.

Pairach Sekteera and the Slammers gotslammed by the Dragons.

SAN MIGUEL
BEERMEN over JOBSTREET.COM SINGAPORE SLINGERS, 66-55

Chris Banchero continued to do damage for the San Miguel
Beermen as he scored 16 points to help the Beermen grab a 66-55 win over the
JobStreet.com Singapore Slingers at the Singapore Indoor Stadium this
afternoon.

"I have been very happy with Banchero in the last three
games. He has been very focused and has played very well. He has been doing a
great job of directing the team," said Beermen's head coach Leo Austria
after the game.

The Beermen came into this game with a record of 3 wins and
3 losses. Banchero admitted that this game was very important for them.
"We really needed this win today. We played great defense the whole game
and we played hard the whole game. It was a great team win," said
Banchero.

The Slingers, despite this match-up being their second in
three days, looked promising earlier on as they took a 7-2 lead on a pair of
free throws from Kyle Jeffers. The Beermen quickly responded with a 13-2 run
capped off by a three-point shot by Matt Rogers and a lay-up from Asi Taulava.

In the third quarter, the Slingers were able to cut their
deficit to 42-36 on a put back by Jeffers. However, The Beermen again
responded, this time with a three point play from Banchero and a lay-up from JR
Cawaling which gave the Beermen a 47-36 lead with 5:30 left in the third
quarter.

The Beermen extended their lead to 57-42 at the start of the
final quarter after Eric Menk scored a lay-up. The Slingers had a tough time
scoring the ball in the fourth quarter and the Beermen held them to only 4
points in the first 6 minutes. Freeman closed the Slingers hope with a corner
three-point which gave the Beermen a 63-47 lead with 2:57 left.

With this win, the Beermen move up to the second position in
the standings table with a record of 4 wins and 3 losses. Asi Taulava chipped
in with 10 points while Freeman, Menk and Rogers added 8 points each. Rogers,
in for the injured Brian Williams, was very solid defensively as he blocked 5
shots.

The Slingers had a chance to make a run in the fourth
quarter but they were not able to take care of the basketball and turned the
ball over 6 times in the first 5 minutes of the final quarter. Shooting 22%
from the field did not help the Slingers either. "Our shooting percentage
was so bad which allowed the Beermen to collapse on our bigs," said coach
Neo.

After two big performances, Rashad Jones-Jennings was held
to only 8 points today but he managed to grab 16 rebounds. Jeffers led the
Slingers with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Wong Wei Long and Jun Cabatu chipped
in 8 points each.